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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • County to take over Be Well campus
    A two story building has a glass entry. Be Well is over the doorway.
    OC Mind was overseeing contractors at the Be Well campus in the city of Orange, which has 60,000 square feet of space.

    Topline:

    Orange County officials are taking control of services at the county’s signature mental health campus, a move that pushes out a nonprofit organization paid tens of millions of dollars in public funds to run it for the last two years. The action comes after a damning audit that found the organization, Mind OC, failed to ensure proper staffing and effective outcomes of key services.

    Why it matters: To date, the county has paid more than $38 million to Mind OC under its three-year contract to manage the Be Well mental health campus in Orange. The county also has a contract with Mind OC for an even bigger mental health campus in Irvine, which is currently under construction.

    What the audit found: The county's audit — which was obtained by LAist through a public records request — found that Mind OC failed to properly oversee subcontractors providing crisis care and substance abuse treatment. Problems flagged included lack of training for providers, questionable billing, and "possible fraud."

    What's next? The county's contract with Mind OC to manage the Be Well campus will end on Sept. 30, O.C. Health Care Agency Director Veronica Kelley told LAist. At that time, the county will take over management.

    Orange County officials are taking control of services at the county’s signature mental health campus, a move that pushes out a nonprofit organization that was paid tens of millions of dollars in public funds to run it for the last two years.

    The action terminates a three-year contract early and comes after a damning audit found the organization, Mind OC, failed to ensure proper staffing and effective outcomes of key services.

    LAist obtained the audit, which has not been previously reported, through a public records request. It's the first audit of Mind OC’s management of the mental health campus — which began in October 2022. To date, the county has paid the nonprofit more than $38 million to manage services at the campus, according to county records.

    Those services include substance abuse treatment and mental health crisis programs. The campus, located in the city of Orange, served some 3,500 people in fiscal year 2023-2024, according to data provided by the O.C. Health Care Agency.

    Your insights help inform our reporting

    • Do you have a friend or family member who received care at Be Well’s campus in Orange? 

    • Do you have a personal experience at Be Well that LAist should know about?

    Email details to jreplogle@scpr.org. We’ll review every response and won’t publish anything you share without your permission.

    The public-private effort was created pre-pandemic as county officials came under increasing pressure to deal with a very public homelessness emergency and high-profile incidents involving people experiencing mental health crises. The goal was to create mental health hubs where, regardless of your insurance status, people can find treatment.

    The shift in operations at Be Well's Orange campus marks the second time the county has lost confidence in a contractor hired to execute their plan. The previous change in 2022 shut down substance abuse treatment services at the Orange campus for more than a year.

    County officials say a change was needed

    Veronica Kelley, director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, told LAist that the contract with Mind OC to run the campus will end Sept. 30. "What we don't want to do is continue down a road that we know is not going well," she said.

    Kelley said that Mind OC did not meet its contract obligations to bring in funding from private insurance or other private revenue to help offset the cost of taxpayer-funded services. She also said it was costing the county twice as much to pay the nonprofit to run the campus as it would for the county to run it themselves.

    "We have switched back to a model that we know works so that it is more efficient and that we can ensure directly that services are being provided in an effective and regulatory required manner," she said.

    A spokesperson for Mind OC said the nonprofit has a meeting scheduled with county leaders on Wednesday and declined to make anyone available for an interview until after that meeting takes place. Their three-year contract to run the Orange campus had been set to run through next June.

    Mind OC will continue in a more limited role at the Be Well campus in Orange, managing the physical property, according to a joint statement released Tuesday by Kelley and Mind OC CEO Phil Franks. Mind OC also has another lucrative county contract to run an even bigger mental health campus being built in Irvine.

    The county health care agency intends to continue working with the onsite subcontractors, Exodus Recovery Inc. and HealthRIGHT 360, "to ensure continued high quality psychiatric crisis and substance use disorder services," according to the news release issued late Tuesday after questions from LAist.

    Audit flags lack of training, questionable billing

    An audit report from July and subsequent memo from Kelley to the O.C. Board of Supervisors notes 38 problems with Mind OC's management of Be Well’s Orange campus including concerns that lack of oversight could have led to “possible fraud.”

    Kelley told LAist that the possibility of fraud was under investigation, and no conclusions had been reached.

    Among the issues flagged in the audit:

    • Inadequate staffing of crisis programs, which are run by subcontractor Exodus Recovery Inc. The audit notes "numerous occasions" of unanswered calls or instances where calls were rerouted to a call center in Los Angeles. 
    • Duplicative billing for residential treatment claims by subcontractor HealthRight360. The audit also notes Mind OC's lack of "consistent and independent monitoring" of HealthRight360 to ensure appropriate billing.
    • Failure to ensure subcontractor HealthRight360 provided appropriate services and procedures for treating substance use disorders. 
    • No evidence that HealthRight360 employees completed the county's required annual trainings, including on substance withdrawal management. 
    • No evidence that mental health providers at the campus followed up with clients after discharge to prevent relapses and link them to continued care.
    • Failure to meet the goal of having 26% of the campus' services paid for via private insurance. Currently, according to the audit, revenue from private insurance makes up just 2.6% of the total, meaning public dollars are paying for the remainder.
    • Failure to meet the goal, laid out in Mind OC's contract, to refer 95% of clients in the crisis residential program to a lower level of care. Only about half of these clients have been discharged to a lower level of care, according to the audit. 

    In Kelley's memo to supervisors about the audit, dated Aug. 15, she wrote that she had taken a call earlier that day from Phillip Franks, Mind OC's CEO, who told her the subcontractor HealthRight360 "was 'not going to make it'” citing billing issues, poor staffing and poor quality of care.

    "All of this should have been addressed and known about if [Mind OC] was fulfilling the requirements of the [contract]," Kelley wrote to the supervisors.

    Kelley told LAist that following the audit’s findings in July, Mind OC submitted a corrective action plan to the county. She said the county was ending its contract with Mind OC for "convenience," not "for cause."

    Vitka Eisen, CEO of HealthRIGHT 360, told LAist that she believed most of the problems flagged in the audit were the result of her organization having to work through Mind OC as an intermediary, instead of working directly with the county, as it does with other public agencies across the state.

    "It's an extremely unusual relationship," she said of MindOC's role on the Be Well campus.

    HealthRIGHT 360 began operating for the first time in O.C., on the Be Well campus, in December 2023. Eisen said, as a new provider in the county, they've had numerous questions about documentation and billing that would have been more easily answered by county health officials, but "we have to go to MindOC with questions," she said.

    LAist reached out to Exodus Recovery Inc. by phone and will update this story if we hear back.

    Tents, tarps and pop-ups line part of a plaza in front of several tall buildings and flagpoles.
    A homeless encampment in Santa Ana's Civic Center Plaza. The encampment was cleared in 2018 as a federal judge and others put pressure on the county to do more to help unhoused people.
    (
    Kirk Siegler
    /
    NPR
    )

    The backstory

    Mind OC, which does business as Be Well OC, was launched in 2017 with the goal of creating several mental health hubs in Orange County funded through both public funds and private health insurance. The organization has had strong support from the O.C. Board of Supervisors, including Supervisor Andrew Do, who helped craft the concept in 2015 as a member of the board's ad hoc committee on mental health services.

    Prior to the formation of Mind OC, county officials faced scrutiny from a federal judge for failing to provide adequate mental health services for unhoused people, and failing to fully spend mental health dollars in the county.

    Mind OC, and the Be Well campus, which opened in Orange in 2021 as a public-private partnership, were meant to address those problems. Initially, Kelley said, the county ran the Orange campus, and Mind OC managed the property and security. Then, in October 2022, the county signed a contract with Mind OC to oversee all operations and subcontractors at the Be Well campus.

    The following year, county health officials raised concerns about the campus' substance abuse treatment contractor Telecare Corp.

    Shortly after those concerns were raised, the county shuttered Be Well's residential treatment program, run by Telecare, for more than a year until the county could find a new contractor.

    HealthRIGHT 360 took over. The most recent audit from July found similar problems remain — for example, failing to provide required services and needed follow-up with clients after they're discharged.

    This past June, the O.C. Board of Supervisors entered into another contract with Mind O.C. to build an even bigger mental health campus — 22 acres — in Irvine. The board approved $40 million in federal pandemic response money for the construction, and at least another $66 million has been provided through state and federal funds.

    Kelley said the county's recent decision to cancel its contract with Mind OC only applies to its contract to manage Be Well's campus in Orange.

    She also said the contract cancellation would not affect the separate contracts Mind OC has with O.C. cities to handle psychiatric and drug emergencies in lieu of armed police officers.

    A woman in a black jacket, beenie and wearing a face mask kneels next to a person with a blanket over their back and their hoodie-covered head bowed.
    A volunteer with Wound Walk OC takes the vital signs of a man sleeping in an underpass in central Orange County.
    (
    Jill Replogle
    /
    LAist
    )

    Responses to the audit and contract termination

    Michael Sean Wright, who runs the street medicine group Wound Walk OC and was briefed on the audit and contract termination by LAist, said it showed county officials hadn’t learned from the past.

    He pointed back to a 2022 audit that revealed problems with Telecare's operations on the Be Well campus.

    "We gave an additional millions of millions of millions of dollars and allowed the same lack of oversight to continue. Mind OC stayed with the keys and the checks," Wright said.

    He added that despite Be Well's original promise of expanded substance abuse treatment services in O.C., it's still difficult to find detox and substance abuse programs for people who want them, many of whom are unhoused.

    "Time is of the essence," he said. "There is no place that will take you at night."

    Supervisor Katrina Foley said the county's decision to take over management of the Be Well campus from Mind OC was part of the "trial and error" that has come along with the county’s efforts to get mental health care to anyone who needs it, regardless of insurance.

    "If something isn't working, we have to be willing to pivot quickly in this dynamic environment," she said.

    "Making sure that people are trained and in compliance with rules and regulations and systems … that is something that the county behavioral health staff can do maybe better than a private nonprofit," Foley said.

    Foley said the county had made "tremendous progress" since the time, in 2016 and 2017, when large encampments clogged the courthouse plaza in Santa Ana and stretched for miles along the Santa Ana riverbed. At the time, many residents in those encampments said they had untreated substance abuse and other mental health problems.

    Per a court settlement, the encampments were cleared in 2018 in exchange for the county and O.C. cities agreeing to build more shelters and permanent supportive housing, and agreeing to connect unhoused people with mental health treatment.

    "I'm actually very proud of the work that our county staff have done to build out the system of care, but it's an evolving process," she said. "We want to get this right before we complete building the much bigger [Be Well] campus in Irvine," she said.

  • High lead levels found at two schools near fire
    A large burned building with faroff tall skyscrapers in the background.
    An aerial view of the clean-up process at the Lineage warehouse on Friday, July 31, 2026. LAUSD reports there are dozens of schools within a three-mile radius of the fire.

    Topline:

    Los Angeles Unified School District officials said environmental tests have concluded the Boyle Heights warehouse fire did not result in widespread contamination at nearby schools. However, on Tuesday they reported lead levels in the soil at two elementary school campuses that exceeded California’s acceptable threshold.

    Why it matters: Officials announced the results one day before classes resume at dozens of schools within a three-mile radius of the Lineage warehouse. The school district promised to give families advance notice of testing results ahead of the start of school on Wednesday. Those results were posted in a 561-page document uploaded to a district website Tuesday morning.

    The district’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety concluded that schools near the disaster “remain safe for occupancy and that the Lineage fire did not result in widespread residual contamination or conditions at LAUSD campuses posing a health hazard to students or staff.”

    The two campuses with high levels of lead: Officials said they found elevated levels of lead in soil samples from two schools. City Terrace Elementary School had 170 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil, while Christopher Dena Elementary School had 120 milligrams. Both exceeded the 80 milligram threshold considered “acceptable” by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.   

    What district officials are saying: Carlos Torres, director of LAUSD’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety, told LAist the district doesn’t believe the lead is tied to the warehouse fire. “Most likely this could be from things like lead-based paints from use in the past. It could be from agricultural use,” Torres said. “There isn't such a thing as clean soil anywhere.”

    What's next: Torres said the front lawn at City Terrace and the tree wells at Dena, where elevated levels of lead were detected, have been fenced off. He said district staff are reviewing the lab results and could decide to conduct more testing, remove or otherwise remediate the soil, for example, by laying down mulch.

    How families can learn more: The district plans to hold another virtual meeting for East L.A. parents on Monday, August 17 at 6 p.m.

    This is a developing story. LAist will update this post as more information is available.

    Go deeper: The Boyle Heights warehouse fire ruined their summer. Now students want a ‘normal’ school year

    Los Angeles Unified School District officials said environmental tests have concluded the Boyle Heights warehouse fire did not result in widespread contamination at nearby schools.

    However, on Tuesday they reported lead levels in the soil at two elementary school campuses that exceeded California’s acceptable threshold. Officials announced the results one day before classes resume at dozens of schools within a three-mile radius of the Lineage warehouse.

    The district promised to give families advance notice of testing results ahead of the start of school on Wednesday. Those results were posted in a 561-page document uploaded to a district website Tuesday morning.

    The district’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety concluded that schools near the disaster “remain safe for occupancy and that the Lineage fire did not result in widespread residual contamination or conditions at LAUSD campuses posing a health hazard to students or staff.”

    District officials said indoor and outdoor testing found the presence of ammonia, formaldehyde and manganese, but at low levels that did not raise concern about fire-related contamination that could harm the health of students or school staff.

    While some parents have told LAist they feel safe sending their children to schools in the area, others have said they’re worried about potential health impacts from the fire, which covered the neighborhood in smoke for more than a week and left tons of food to rot in the sun.

    Two campuses with elevated lead levels

    Officials said they found elevated levels of lead in soil samples from two elementary schools. City Terrace Elementary School had 170 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil, while Christopher Dena Elementary School had 120 milligrams. Both exceeded the 80 milligram threshold considered “acceptable” by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.   

    Carlos Torres, director of LAUSD’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety, told LAist the district doesn’t believe the lead is tied to the warehouse fire.

    “Most likely this could be from things like lead-based paints from use in the past. It could be from agricultural use,” Torres said. “There isn't such a thing as clean soil anywhere.”

    How the testing works

    LAUSD tested 10 schools out of the more than 50 campuses located within a three-mile radius of the Lineage warehouse.

    The report said the schools were selected based on their proximity to the warehouse and in relation to wind patterns that may have influenced where the fire smoke deposited contaminants. The district also tested one school farther from the fire, but similar to those near the warehouse because of its proximity to other industrial sites and a freeway.

    The tests were conducted from July 28 to August 7.

    The district collected:

    • Dust wipe samples from indoor and outdoor spaces including desks, drinking fountains, tables, and playgrounds 
    • Soil samples from unpaved areas and gardens 
    • Air samples from indoor and outdoor areas including athletic fields, classrooms and gyms 

    The district tested for substances that included metals identified as potential contaminants from the fire, including arsenic, lead, lithium and manganese, as well as ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen fluoride in the air.

    The report said the district consulted with an industrial hygienist, a UCLA researcher, a geologist and a third-party environmental consulting firm to create the testing plan.

    The samples were evaluated by a third-party lab and then compared against both state and federal screening levels.

    How the district cleaned schools 

    District officials have described their response to the warehouse fire in several virtual meetings, including:

    • Inspecting and twice replacing air-conditioning filters with those rated MERV-13, an indicator of the filter’s ability to trap small particles
    • Deep cleaning, including by washing walls and furniture, waxing floors and pressure-washing outdoor areas and playground equipment
    • Placing air purifiers with carbon charcoal filters in all classrooms

    What's next

    Torres said the front lawn at City Terrace and the tree wells at Dena, where elevated levels of lead were detected, have been fenced off. He said district staff are reviewing the lab results and could decide to conduct more testing that could lead to the removal or remediation of the soil, for example, by laying down mulch.

    The district plans to hold another virtual meeting for East L.A. parents on Monday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m.

    LAist reporter David Wagner contributed to this story.

  • Sponsored message
  • What to do if Alexandra Lozano represented you
    A large advertisement features a woman with light skin tone and long blonde hair, U.S. dollar bills, and a logo with the words "immigration law." The advertisement is inside an office space.
    An ad inside Alexandra Lozano Kennedy's office in Commerce.

    Topline:

    Alexandra Lozano Kennedy, a former immigration attorney who made wide use of social media and Latino religious iconography to attract clientele — had offices across the country, including one in the city of Commerce in Southeast L.A. Because she has been suspended from practicing due to alleged misconduct, immigrant advocates have provided guidance on what former clients can do to track and manage their cases.

    Why it matters: Lozano Kennedy, who had tens of thousands of clients, is accused of falsifying stories of trafficking and abuse without her clients’ knowledge, according to lawsuits and immigrant advocates. She is also accused of using nonlawyers to perform client consultations and provide legal advice.

    What do advocates recommend?  If you were represented by Lozano Kennedy and have petitions or applications pending before USCIS, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Loyola Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic have provided guidance for former clients. M. Lucero Ortiz, the supervising attorney at the clinic, stressed that these are all steps community members can take for themselves, without the help of an attorney.

    Read on... for more on how this fraud has affected Angelenos.

    Alexandra Lozano Kennedy — a former immigration attorney who made wide use of social media and Latino religious iconography to attract clientele — had offices across the U.S., including one in the city of Commerce in Southeast L.A.

    Lozano Kennedy was licensed by the Washington State Bar Association, which enabled her to represent clients nationwide. In May, she resigned in lieu of discipline for misconduct and is permanently barred from practicing law in that state. As of June 2026, she is also suspended from practicing before the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; immigration courts; and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

    Lozano Kennedy, who had tens of thousands of clients, is accused of falsifying stories of trafficking and abuse without her clients’ knowledge, according to lawsuits and immigrant advocates.

    At her office in Los Angeles County, clients were met with a large image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the reception area, flanked by flowers and votive candles, much like a scene inside a local Catholic church. This holy image was also on business cards distributed at the locale. Lozano Kennedy’s use of this iconography as a business strategy harmed community members, said M. Lucero Ortiz, supervising attorney at Loyola Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic.

    “A lot of them are questioning their own faith," Ortiz said.

    “Her fraud really only had a shelf life of about five to six years, because that's how long these cases take to be processed,” Ortiz added.

    The clinic she supervises is using social media to help Lozano Kennedy’s former clients navigate the fallout amid the Trump administration’s ongoing mass deportation campaign.

    Lozano Kennedy billed herself as a miracle worker, Ortiz said. The work permits clients received as their applications made their way through the immigration process bolstered this belief.

    "Clients would think: ‘Oh, my gosh! Everybody else told me that my case was too complex, but this woman got me a work permit in six to nine months,’" Ortiz said. “But what they didn't know is that, five years later, that case would be denied. And they would be in removal proceedings.”

    What is Lozano Kennedy accused of?  

    According to the Washington State Bar Association, Lozano Kennedy's alleged misconduct includes:

    • directing staff to use a script that contained false and/or misleading information when communicating with prospective clients
    • filing applications for immigration benefits with USCIS when she knew the clients were ineligible for those benefits
    • using nonlawyers to perform legal functions on behalf of clients, and/or delegating legal functions to non-lawyer staff, such as performing client consultations and providing legal advice 

    Find a full list of her alleged misconduct here. Lozano Kennedy has denied any wrongdoing.

    What do advocates recommend?   

    If you were represented by Lozano Kennedy and have petitions or applications pending before USCIS, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Loyola Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic have provided guidance for former clients. The latter recommends former clients take the following steps:

    • Open an account online at my.uscis.gov. This allows people with pending immigration cases to manage and track their status in real time, including filing applications, receiving digital notices, uploading evidence and communicating securely with USCIS officers.
    • Submit a change of address (USCIS Form AR-11) request. Be sure to file online and mail the request.
      • Cases with a receipt number starting with EAC should mail the request to the Vermont Service Center, USCIS Service Center Operations, Attn: Humanitarian Division, 38 River Rd., Essex Junction, VT 05479-0001.
      • Cases with a receipt number starting with LIN, should mail the request forms to the Nebraska Service Center, USCIS Service Center Operations, P.O. Box 87918, Lincoln, NE 68501-7918.
    • Send USCIS a revocation of legal representation letter expressing that you no longer want the attorney of record to represent you and that you will be representing yourself (pro se) while you hire another attorney.
    • Request a copy of your case file online at USCIS FOIA and through email from Luz Legal.
    • Check your case status at USCIS and immigration court.
    • Submit a request to the victims’ compensation fund with the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA).
    • After you receive a copy of your case file, consult a licensed and experienced attorney about the strategy in your case.

    Ortiz, the supervising attorney at the clinic, stressed that these are all steps community members can take for themselves, without the help of an attorney. You can find details for each step here.

    The Immigrant Justice Clinic also addressed these frequently asked questions:

    • Should all of Lozano Kennedy’s former clients withdraw their pending USCIS application?
      • No, if a pending case is withdrawn, it can lead to a notice to appear (NTA)/deportation process. Consult with a licensed and experienced attorney before making any decision regarding your case.
    • Are all former clients eligible to join the two pending civil lawsuits against Lozano Kennedy?
      • No, not all former clients will be able to join the pending lawsuits.
      • To learn more, former clients can share their contact information and a summary of their case online at https://lozanocivilaction.com/#register
      • In California, the statute of limitations for civil fraud claims is three years.
      • A civil lawsuit will not address or fix an individual’s pending immigration case.
  • LAUSD recovenes with better testing, worse budget
    Two teenage students are silhouetted against a yellow school bus.
    LAUSD is the country’s second-largest school district and is projected to enroll 378,000 students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade in the 2026-27 school year.

    Topline:

    With another Los Angeles Unified school year starting tomorrow, district leaders say they're aiming to maintain recent academic progress at the same time they handle needed budget cuts.

    Why it matters: LAUSD is the country’s second-largest school district and is projected to enroll 378,000 students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade this school year. For the most part, LAUSD students told LAist they’re experiencing the usual mix of nerves and excitement associated with the first day of school. However, they’re also aware that local and national politics are reshaping their education, including who shows up for class.

    Why cuts are needed: The district’s financial projections show LAUSD will be short $231 million by November 2027. District staff have previously said that plans to stabilize the budget could lead to more than 6,000 layoffs, amounting to more than 10% of LAUSD’s current workforce.

    The backstory: The district presented preliminary results in July from the state’s standardized reading and math tests that show a third consecutive year of improvements. However, even with that progress, the majority of students do not meet the benchmark for either subject.

    Read on… to hear how recent federal immigration raids have disrupted classroom learning.

    As another Los Angeles Unified school year starts Wednesday, district leaders say they hope to maintain recent academic progress while they also contend with a series of budget cuts needed to make ends meet.

    "The decisions will be hard, but we cannot lose sight of what defines us," said Andrés Chait, the district’s new superintendent, in a July speech kicking off the start of the new academic year. "We are the system that lifts students to opportunity, turns potential into achievement, creates spaces of belonging, healing [and] growth."

    The country’s second-largest school district resumes classes as federal immigration raids continue along with the detention of area parents and children.

    What we are hearing

    For the most part, LAUSD students told LAist they’re experiencing the usual mix of nerves and excitement associated with the first day of school.

    They’re also aware that local and national politics are reshaping their education, including who is in the classroom.

    A note on student names

    LAist is not publishing the last names of students to protect their privacy.

    Andrea, a sophomore at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Lincoln Heights, said there were days last year when so many students were absent that teachers would pause their lessons.

    “What's the point of teaching it if half the class is gone?” Andrea said. “That really makes everybody behind.”

    Educators have patrolled the neighborhood near Andrea’s school to notify families of any ICE activity nearby.

    “That definitely made us feel more safe and more respected in the school,” she said. Throughout the year, she noticed more of her peers return to class.

    A looming shortfall

    LAUSD’s spending is budgeted to exceed revenue by $2 billion this school year. For the third consecutive year, the district plans to pay the difference with reserves that were largely built up by one-time federal pandemic relief dollars.

    The district’s financial projections show LAUSD will be short $231 million by November 2027.

    The L.A. County Office of Education, which oversees the finances of local districts, intervened in July after the board approved new labor contracts for LAUSD’s largest unions.

    “The financial reality before the District raises serious concerns regarding its ability to meet its financial obligations,” wrote Debra Duardo, L.A. County Superintendent of Schools, in a July 2 letter.

    If district officials decide to request an emergency loan from the state, it would trigger a rare takeover that would strip LAUSD’s board of decision-making power and likely take years to undo.

    The county appointed a fiscal advisor to the district, but did not grant that person the authority to override the board or superintendent’s decisions.

    The county directed LAUSD to provide more details about the district’s plan to stabilize the budget through $3.6 billion in cuts spread out over three years. District officials said their plan envisions furloughs for all employees in the 2027-28 school year — a move that requires negotiating with the unions that represent those employees.

    “I think what they expect to see from us… is frankly a prove-up around the fiscal stabilization plan,” Chait said. “They want to see that we can actually implement what we put into that plan.”

    District staff have previously said that plans to stabilize the budget could lead to more than 6,000 layoffs, amounting to more than 10% of LAUSD’s current workforce.

    One unknown is how future state funding will change the district’s budget projections. While California education funding has risen in recent years, the state plans to hold back $3.9 billion for schools and community colleges in the most recent budget.

    “No one is asking the state for anything more or less than what we are due,” Chait said. “We are not asking for a handout.”

    New, but familiar leadership

    Though Chait is new to the district’s top job, he is familiar to many from his nearly three-decade tenure as a district educator and administrator.

    District principals greeted Chait with a standing ovation at his first opening-of-schools address in July.

    “As I was preparing for this talk, I was thinking about how to introduce myself,” Chait told a crowd of several hundred administrators at James A. Garfield High School. “But then I realized you don't introduce yourself to family.”

    A man with medium-light skin tone and a gray and brown goatee wears a dark suit with a blue tie and smiles at the adults standing around him.
    Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Andrés Chait speaks with educators and support staff at Pacoima Middle School on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.
    (
    Allen J. Schaben
    /
    Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
    )

    Chait highlighted preliminary results from the state’s standardized reading and math tests that show a third consecutive year of improvements.

    However, even with that progress, the majority of students do not meet the benchmark for either subject. It’s unclear how LAUSD’s performance compares to the state because those results have yet to be released.

    Chait is the first LAUSD insider to serve as superintendent in a decade. His hire came after two high-profile external hires — Alberto Carvalho, a former Miami schools leader, and Austin Beutner, an investment banker and former publisher of the L.A. Times.

    LAUSD’s elected seven-member board, which has the final say on the district’s financial decisions, is unchanged. Voters re-elected incumbents to this year’s three board races from a sparse field of candidates in June’s primary contest.

    Ongoing enrollment challenges

    LAUSD is projected to enroll 378,000 students in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade this school year.

    As birth rates decline, fewer students are enrolling at schools throughout the state. The drop in enrollment is steeper in areas with high costs of living, such as L.A.

    California funds schools based on an average of how many students show up to class each day, with additional money for every student in the district who is low-income, an English-language learner, unhoused or a foster youth. Over time, fewer students could lead to less funding.

    District leaders attributed last school year’s larger-than-expected drop in students to the “fear and instability” associated with federal immigration raids.

    Even students who continued to attend school reported changing their behavior in response to the raids.

    Alvira, a junior at Lake Balboa College Preparatory Magnet K-12, is an immigrant from Bangladesh. She started carrying a photocopy of her passport until she could get a REAL ID.

    “Just in case anything happens, I can prove that I'm a citizen,” Alvira said.

    Find your LAUSD board member

    LAUSD board members can amplify concerns from parents, students, and educators. Find your representative below.

    District 1 map, includes Mid City, parts of South LA
    Board Member Sherlett Hendy Newbill

    District 2 map, includes Downtown, East LA
    Board Vice President Rocío Rivas

    District 3 map, includes West San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood
    Board President Scott Schmerelson

    District 4 map, includes West Hollywood, some beach cities
    Board Member Nick Melvoin 

    District 5 map, includes parts of Northeast and Southwest LA
    Board Member Karla Griego

    District 6 map, includes East San Fernando Valley
    Board Member Kelly Gonez

    District 7 map, includes South LA, and parts of the South Bay
    Board Member Tanya Ortiz Franklin

  • Al fresco dinner and dancing at secret L.A. spots
    Dozens of people dressed in white assemble their table settings with the Beverly Hills City Hall building and palm trees in the background
    Dîner en Blanc had the backdrop of Beverly Hills City Hall this year.

    Topline:

    For the first time since 2019, the outdoor white party held in cities around the world returned to Los Angeles this month, and there are plans to resume annual events.

    What is it? Special locations, which have included the Santa Monica Pier and Pasadena City Hall, are kept secret until just before the dinner begins. The event is a celebration of French culture and customs, where guests are required to dress in all white and get fancy. Hats, wigs and masks are encouraged.

    Sounds spendy: You can spend a little more and have a table, chairs and even your meal pre-made, but the DIY of it all is a big part of the appeal. Awards are given out for the best dressed and the best all white table-setting.

    Read on ... to hear the experience of LAist’s Julia Paskin and whether the experience lived up to the hype.

    Dîner en Blanc — the DIY, fine, alfresco meal held in secret locations — has returned to L.A.

    The event had been on hiatus here for seven years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and struggles to find a new volunteer host.

    But on Aug. 1, around 1,500 people dined and danced right on the street in front of the Beverly Hills City Hall. Past locations include the Santa Monica Pier and the plaza at the Music Center in downtown L.A. The mostly volunteer organization says it's looking to come back in March 2027 with double the attendance.

    I heard about Dîner en Blanc about 10 years ago and always wondered if it was worth the hype, a question I’m asking myself more frequently as many pop-ups are more geared towards cool photo-ops as opposed to a good experience.

    The event is held in cities around the world, but started in France and is rooted in both celebrating French culture and the tradition of gathering to break bread together —- a concept I can get behind.

    Attending requires some planning and legwork, including online registration, a membership fee, a nice picnic, carrying a table and chairs, not knowing where you are going because the location is kept secret until the last minute, and working with a group of strangers to find the spot and set up everything.

    Everything you wear and put on your table has to be white. Not eggshell. Not cream. Not even off-white. Paper and plastic are discouraged.

    Guests are encouraged to get extra fancy with their table decor and outfits, and awards are given out for both. Those who go all out wear full costumes with wigs, masks and hats, and some tables are decorated with shining glass and twinkling lights.

    Then there’s the cost

    A table setting featuring a lit-up Eiffel Tower, a white candle in a silver and glass jar, a carafe of lemonade, white flowers, and a tray of white chocolate pretzels.
    Creative table settings are encouraged, and judges choose one for a prize.
    (
    Julia Paskin
    /
    LAist
    )

    Entry is $65 per ticket, plus a $14 membership fee. Tickets are sold in pairs. 

    It's $15 for table and chairs rental (optional instead of bring your own). This is worth it if you don’t already own white folding chairs. Plus you don’t have to transport anything.

    A multi-course meal for two is prepared by Todd English, a celebrity chef. That costs up to $125 — or you can bring your own. The prepared meal is a good option with enough food for two people (if that’s in your price range), but I enjoy putting a picnic together, so I would personally opt to do that part myself in the future.

    For beverages:

    • Water: 18.5 ounces, optional instead of BYO, $4, or $32 for a box of 12.
    • Wine: There's no BYOB. Packages including Chambord and chocolates, from $25 to $68.

    And none of that includes parking, gas or rideshare costs.

    So was it worth it?

    To quote first-time attendee Lilli Burrows: “I don’t need more stuff, I need experiences. I need to have fun things to do and create wonderful memories.”

    Dozens of people dressed in white sit in white folding chairs at tables with white table cloths. Glasses, plates and napkins are on the tables along with a tall flowery centerpiece.
    Guests await the ceremonial napkin wave to start the meal after setting up Dîner en Blanc in Beverly Hills recently.
    (
    Julia Paskin
    /
    LAist
    )

    Hector Gama also attended for the first time and was already planning for next year.

    “We kind of downplayed it this time, but I’m sure next time there’s going to be a lot more stuff,” he said.

    Alexa Kushner, 26, was invited by friends. “It feels like a really socially unique experience, and it's bonding the community of Los Angeles in a really fun way,” he told me.

    Pro tips from guests

    • Don’t worry about getting your outfit, meal or table set up perfectly. Be as extravagant as you want, but there are no fashion police or even any judgey vibes. 
    • Wear comfortable shoes since you have to carry your items or at least walk to your table.
    • Bring a stain remover. Sharing a Tide Pen will make you very popular.

    As for me?

    • I would pay the extra 15 bucks to not have to bring my own table and chairs.
    • I would not pay more than $100 on the pre-made meal when I can bring a cheaper picnic that's more to my taste.
    • Would I recommend it? Its a festive event with food, music and sparklers which could make for a fun holiday-like tradition with a group of friends, or if you just want to meet new people in a friendly atmosphere. If that's not your cup of tea, there's plenty of great picnic spots in L.A. that are free.

    Get notifications for next year’s Dîner en Blanc here.